Car insurance "My Rate"

[RollTideRam]

I just changed car insurance to try and save some money. I went with Progressive. When figuring online there was an option called "My Rate". I checked the box on it because it was the cheapest rate. I did not read the fine print. Yesterday we got a small box in the mail. It had three little boxes in it. I am supposed to plug each little box into the OBD II port on each vehicle. It says it keep track of when, where, how fast and how safe I drive. I can opt out of this at any time. Does anyone have this type of coverage? It seems wrong somehow to me. JC

 

[SnowRidge]

Contact your state insurance commissioner or equivalent right away. They should be able to tell you if everything about that is legit in your state.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Some vehicles already come from the factory with the "black box." I would send them back for recycling. It "says" it keeps track of how safe you drive. No, it keeps track of how unsafe you drive.

I do know of body shops that won't accept claims from progressive as they are such a bear to deal with. Just remember, you get what you pay for.

If it feels wrong, it probably is.

 

[thatguy]

There seems to always be a catch to the best rates... I have never heard of this though..

Brian

 

[skidoo]

Snip... Just remember, you get what you pay for.

... snip

I see people say this all the time. But, I think it is backwards.. You pay for what you get, but you don't always get what you pay for...


Also, for companies like Progressive, where do you think all that money comes from to pay all of their advertising? If a company advertises a lot, its not likely that you will get the best value because something has to pay for the ads. Hmm, I wonder if that applies to elections too?

 

[RollTideRam]

I went with them to save $300 every six months. I was with Allstate last. I checked three other companies (Major companies) and they were all within $50 of Allstate, even the lizard company. I will check to see how much the rate goes up without the "My Rate". JC

 

[kthompson]

As an insurance agent who did but no longer sells auto insurance companies like Progressive are not ones I care for but that has to do with the way they deal with agents and play them against the consumer. It use to be illegal for there to be any difference in rates in coverage regardless of how you bought such as toll free number or agent. That is not true in our state for auto now and may be the same in other states. But the way Progressive belittles agents gets me. Now some don't provide any service ok and I will say that first. But I have never found the toll free number or web site people take the time to explain such as those boxes UNLESS YOU ASK FIRST.

No idea how Progressive is about paying claims but there sure are some out there that are about as sorry as sorry can be. I tell people, listen to their ads, and what person brain level of person does that kind of ad appeal to?

Just know as the reference was made about elections, (now not sure of his relationship with Progressive if largest stockholder or owner or what) is very large contributor to the Democrat party or was for a good while.

 

[Bird]

In spite of the ads they used to send all the time, I did not join AAA until about 6 years ago. I initially joined simply so my wife could call them in the event of a flat tire or vehicle breakdown, but then they offered lower premiums for my auto insurance than I was paying Allstate (I was warned nearly 45 years ago to stay away from Allstate and should have listened), so I went with AAA for my auto insurance. Then when we bought this house a little over 3 years ago, they offered lower premiums on a homeowners policy than I found elsewhere. So now I have auto and homeowners insurance with AAA. They've been the best premiums for the coverage I have, but since I've not had a claim, I don't know how good they'll be if that happens.

 

[SnowRidge]

I see people say this all the time. But, I think it is backwards.. You pay for what you get, but you don't always get what you pay for...

Here's mine:

You always pay for what you get. You sometimes get what you pay for, but you never get what you don't pay for.

 

[ultrarunner]

So now I have auto and homeowners insurance with AAA. They've been the best premiums for the coverage I have, but since I've not had a claim, I don't know how good they'll be if that happens.

My extended family has slowly switched to CSAA, the Northern California AAA.

The main reason for the switch is California has gone through several phases where home and auto companies pull out and non-renew policies... and it leaves all those affected scrambling for coverage.

Conventional wisdom is CSAA will never leave California because this is the only place they do business... plus northern Nevada.

Last year, during the Tahoe Angora fire, CSAA called my mom and asked if there was anything she needed. The agent said they had resources available to help her move household items, create a fire break and private fire-fighters on the ground. Thankfully the fire never got closer than 3 miles... but it's nice to know the company is pro-active...